1. Up and at it – what is your morning routine?
I get up pretty late, at about 9am or as late as 9.30 as I need a lot of sleep and I find it hard to get going in the morning without it. I usually check my phone first thing for any messages or emails that I need to deal with. I have breakfast straight away as I can't function without it. I am usually alone for breakfast unless Daniel isn't touring at the time.
2. What might you eat in a typical working day for...
Breakfast? For breakfast I might have porridge, tea and toast or a poached egg on toast.
Lunch? Lunch is usually 'on the run', so maybe I'd have a sandwich and a coffee.
Evening meal? Dinner is usually chicken with pasta or vegetables or a beef stew with potatoes. I love my food and there is very little I don't like.
3. Is nutrition important to you?
Unfortunately I don't pay to much heed to nutrition, but I do keep an eye on my fat and sugar intake (not as much as I should though).
4. Are you a calorie counter?
I don't count calories – life's too short – so everything in moderation is my motivation.
5. Best meal ever?
The best meal I ever had was at my mum's house and consisted of bacon, cabbage, white sauce and potatoes. I had been working, doing up a house, and I had not stopped for almost two days. I was just getting by on cups of tea and cups of coffee and maybe a biscuit here and there. I was exhausted at the end of it and starving, so, when I got to my mum's house, she had this dinner ready for me and it was like manna from heaven. I felt like I had never tasted anything so good in my entire life. Thanks, Mum.
6. Do you have a guilty pleasure?
I have no guilty pleasures regarding food, just no guilt regarding food at all, really. I eat everything and never feel guilty.
7. Have you ever been on a diet? If so, how did it go?
I have tried calorie counting and it worked, but I hated every minute of it.
8. Do you take health supplements?
I take fish oil tablets every day because I have arthritis in my fingers which can be painful.
9. Tee-total or tipple?
Tipple, for sure. I enjoy wine or a gin and tonic which must have ice and slice (of lemon, please).
10. Fruit or fry-up?
Daniel and I will have a fry-up at the weekends, usually, when he must always have his with baked beans. His has some very strange tastes – he doesn't like bread, tea, coffee or milk, but loves baked beans with a fry. He also sometimes has a bar of chocolate at breakfast. We have more time for breakfast at the weekends, so it's great just to eat together and not be rushing about so much.
11. Stairs or lift?
On balance, I'd say I take the stairs 40 per cent of the time and the lift 60 per cent of the time.
12. Do you have a daily exercise regime?
I have no daily exercise regime and I feel very guilty about that. I go through phases where I walk every day for an hour and then it stops. I must start again soon.
13. On a scale of one to 10, how fit do you think you are; how fit would you like to be?
On a scale of one to 10, my fitness level is at about three. Shocking, even if I say so myself.
14. Best tip for everyday fitness?
Go for an hour-long walk everyday (which I need to do).
15. Do you have a memory from school sport / PE days you would rather forget?
I went to a Catholic, all-nuns (with habits) school where there weren't any lay teachers until I was in either fifth or sixth year – I can't remember when exactly. But, what I do remember, in great detail, is the day the new PE teacher arrived. He was really tall, really good-looking; a real hunk. So, I don't have an outstanding memory of any PE lessons because I was too distracted by the gorgeous new teacher.
16. Did you ever have a health epiphany which made you change your lifestyle?
Having cancer made me re-evaluate my lifestyle, but only for a short while. After the diagnosis, I thought, 'Oh, my God, I should totally change my life... and I did temporarily. I stopped eating dairy products, I stopped drinking; I stopped loads of things that gave me pleasure. It didn't last long – I had an epiphany when I realised how miserable I was making myself in denying myself these things. The truth is, for the most part we don't know why we get cancer – I wasn't ridiculously unhealthy or anything – so I thought total abstinence wouldn't make a big difference to whether the cancer comes back or not. It's out of our control. Que sera sera.
17. Best health advice you were ever given and would pass on to others?
Everything in moderation in life.
18. Who would you try to emulate in terms of fitness / attitude to life?
I admire Richard Branson because I think he has a good philosophy for life and manages to maintain a good work-life balance, no matter how busy he is. He is successful, but also very family orientated. I follow him on Twitter and his tweets are positive and life-affirming. People who are successful many times over sometimes don't know when to stop, to step back and appreciate life. I think pausing and stepping back are guidelines we all could follow.
19. What time do you get to bed normally and do you think you get enough sleep?
I usually go to bed at about 11.30pm, sometimes midnight, but I do get plenty of sleep.
20. Would you say you have a healthy attitude towards your own mortality?
Yes, I do believe I have a healthy attitude to my mortality. I know I'm going to die sometime and, until then, I'll live my life the best way I can.
